Am I Good Enough To Go To Heaven?

The Essence of God's Message:

In a sense, life is a test; and a certain score is required to enter heaven. All the counterfeit messages - the perversions of biblical truth and the myriad of world religions that aren't validated by the prophetic clock - are similar in that they tell us we have to get a certain score to earn our way to heaven. They're right in that we have to have a passing score, but they're wrong about what that score is. Some say 50%. Others say 70%. Some 90%. Some say any score. The passing score is actually 100%. This levels the field - every single person falls short! "For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). The wonderful news is that Jesus Christ took the test for you, so to speak, and He scored 100%. "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9). Lest anyone should boast - because we get to heaven based on what Christ did and not on what we do, nobody can boast in their own achievement! After Christ rose from the grave and walked on the earth before returning to heaven, He encountered people who did not believe that He was alive again: "Then He said to them, 'O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?' And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself" (Luke 24:25-27). In verses 46-51 of the same chapter - "Then He said to them, 'Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And you are witnesses of these things... And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. Now it came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from them and carried up into heaven."

"Remission of sins" - This is the replacement of your imperfect score with His perfect score. The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ made this transaction possible. Isaiah 53:5 - "But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed."

Remember Ephesians 2:7 states that this is a gift. We receive this gift by trusting in Christ. This trust isn't just a mental acknowledgement. It occurs deep in the heart. It's called "genuine faith" (2 Timothy 1:5), belief "with all your heart" (Acts 8:37), and "trust"(Ephesians 1:11-13).

"If righteousness came through the law [if we were able to achieve a passing score on our own] then Christ died in vain [then we wouldn't need His score - His gift - to enter heaven]" (Galatians 2:21) .

"Repentance" - This is the English translation of the Greek word metanoia, which means "change of mind." When you trust in Christ for the "remission of sins", there is a change in your mind that reflects the change in your eternal destiny. To better understand what this means, it is helpful to look at the consequence of sin. Isaiah 59:2 states, "But your iniquities have separated you from your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you." Remission of sins takes away the separation. That separation is like the Grand Canyon - imagine the difference between standing one foot away from someone and being separated by the Grand Canyon. When the separation is taken away by the remission of sins, we enter a personal relationship with God. This relationship is characterized by love. God wants us to follow Him because we love Him. "We love Him because He first loved us" (1 John 4:19).

It only stands to reason that if He designed us then He knows what we need. The prophet Isaiah wrote, "Surely you have things turned around! Shall the potter be esteemed as the clay; for shall the thing made say of him who made it, 'He did not make me'? Or shall the thing formed say of him who formed it, 'He has no understanding?'" (Isaiah 29:16)